Top 10 Mythical Horses of all time.

Horses have always played a crucial role in mythical stories from different history times. Usually, they are depicted as beasts of burden, battlefield weapons, gods, or even simple companions; it goes without saying that domesticating the horse was an important first stepping stone toward human progress. We’ve wrapped up the top 10 mythical horses of history that still live up to today’s expectations.

1.Chollima

Chollima existence was first mentioned around the 3rd century BCE in many East Asian cultures, and its name can be literally translated to “thousand-li horse”. A “li”, in Chinese antiquity, used to represent a measure unit, that would amount to around 400 kilometers today. Therefore, back then, it was said that Chollima could cover 400 kilometers in a single day. Today, although not as popular as it used to be before, it’s gained a bit of notoriety owing to the fact that North Korea’s now adopted It as an official symbol of prosperity and wellbeing.

2.Tulpar

Tulpar is a Turkish term used to refer to a mythical winged horse, which was believed to be a mixture of an average horse and a prey bird, both creatures representing important hunting tools back then. It goes without saying that Tulpars are truly important to the Asian culture, since both Mongolia and Kazakhstan use them as an emblem.

3.Pegasus

Almost anyone knows or at least should know a few things about Pegasus, the supernatural horse of Greek mythology. Legend says that Pegasus helped Bellerophon defeat the Chimera, and Zeus decided he’d transform Pegasus into a constellation for it to have its own place in the sky. To this day, Pegasus is still recognizable as one of the most representative figures of mythology in general.

4. Kanthaka

Kanthaka is featured in Buddhist mythology as Siddhartha Gautama, AKA Buddha ‘s personal horse, which he used to escape the palace of his family when he wanted to become an ascetic. Later on, Kanthaka died, and is said that he was reincarnated into a scholar which would achieve true enlightenment throughout his life.

5.Widow-Maker

Truth is, Widow-Maker does not partake in any mythological story, but rather, is part of American culture, featured in a great deal of animated series. Widow-Maker is a legendary horse that pertains to Pecos Bill, another legendary cowboy that used to rule the American Old West. No one can ride Widow-Maker except for Pecos Bill himself, so you can imagine how skillful the cowboy must be.

6. Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Conquest, War, Famine and Death) are depicted, in Christian Mythology, as being the harbingers of the Last Judgment. The Four Horsemen’s horses, respectively colored pale green, black, red and white, have represented the main prop figures in Christian eschatology for millennia.

7. Unicorn

The Unicorn is probably the most widely-known mythological creature. It is generally depicted as a beast with a huge spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. It was also featured in multiple ancient literary works such as Ctesias, Strabo, Aelian and Pliny The Younger’s. There are just so many references to the Unicorn nowadays that it is impossible not to have heard at least of its name till now!

8.Kelpie

This is a rather interesting creature. Originally emerging from Scottish mythology, it’s spread around the world as an ever-changing water spirit, primarily appearing as a horse that can also adopt a human form hassle-free. Some mythological sources say that, when transforming into an actual human, Kelpie keeps its hooves; owing to this very little detail, some people associate Kelpie to the Christian Satan.

9. Bucephalus

Just as the Unicorn featured before, Bucephalus is widely-known around the world, owing to the fact he used to be Alexander the Great’s horse, and by extension, one of the most famous horses of antiquity. Most sources unanimously agree that Bucephalus died in the Battle of the Hydaspes in 326 BC and is buried in Jalalpur Sharif, Pakistan.

10.Hippogriff

Harry Potter fans, stand up, you’ve got this one! The hippogriff is a mythological creature which is composed of half an eagle and half a horse, and throughout history played an important role in extremely popular literary works of famous authors, such as Virgil’s Eclogues. Later on, he was to be depicted in the Renaissance period by Ludovico Ariosto in his Orlando Furioso work. Very later on, we can see the hippogriff depicted, of course, in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter books and movies.